


Promise Me

by Becca_Kenobi



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Death, Drama, F/M, Fanfiction, Marvel - Freeform, Marvel Universe, Mutant Reader, POV, POV First Person, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Dancing, Slow Romance, Smut, Trauma, Tropes, fan fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:07:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25750336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Becca_Kenobi/pseuds/Becca_Kenobi
Summary: You have been through so much in your life. Experiments, mutations, torture at the hand of HYDRA. With powers considered a weapon, there is no one who trusts you and no one that you can trust. After SHIELD intervenes and takes you away from HYDRA, you find yourself needing to trust somebody if you can't trust yourself. It's then that you meet him, Steve Rogers, perhaps the only one willing to give you a chance.
Relationships: Captain America & Reader, Captain America x Reader, Captain America x you, Captain America/Reader, Captain America/You, Steve Rogers x Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	1. Trust is a Five Letter Word

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and thank you for looking into this book! This is my first go at posting here!  
> The reader is written to be female but it is very open to interpretations!
> 
> Song for this chapter: Monster by Imagine Dragons
> 
>  **Warnings for this chapter** : Mainly just cursing and mention of torture, nothing too hard since this is the first chapter, gotta ease into it.
> 
> Comments welcome!

The sound of the chains shackling your wrists together dragged on the floor, waking you from the light sleep that you had finally slipped into. It had to have been a few days. Was it three or four since you had been put in this cell? It didn't matter, the days blurred together when kept in isolation. Tony Stark came by once a day with a meal for you, he'd ask you how you were feeling and then ask for your connection or involvement with HYDRA. It was always the same questions that you did not have the answers to. He didn't understand that you were a prisoner under HYDRA and not a worker under them. When you tried to explain that to Tony, he'd grow irritated and leave. Not too much of a loss on your end but you did feel the loneliness creeping in after the first two nights of solitude. 

The sound of boots clicking from down the hall stirred you from your thoughts and you lifted your head more when the sound grew closer. The footfall did not sound as arrogant and cocky as Tony's usually did. Your hope grew as you looked towards the entrance and you stood up eagerly. The cool air covered your skin like a familiar blanket although you were dressed fully in a pair of black jeans and a matching black tank top. The cool metal of the cuffs on your wrists held the black leather gloves in place. You felt that standing made you more presentable, more _formidable_ in case that was necessary to appear as. But relief eased your mind and curiosity overwhelmed you as you saw the blonde hair and unmistakable blue eyes that belonged to Captain America. 

"Who are you?" He asked curiously, coming to a stop in front of the doors to your cell. You say your name as you stepped closer, taking in the appearance of him being out of the uniform you had seen in photographs. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a grey v-neck shirt. It looked like he had just decided to stroll along the building without a care in the world. You had never been as lucky, never had the chance to truly let your guard down and welcome the unknowing. Last time you had done that was before you had first been kidnapped by SHIELD's rival.

"I'm Steve, it's great to meet you." He offered his hand to shake. You immediately pulled your hands closer to your chest as his hand made it through the bars to you. He noticed your hesitation and pulled his hand back slowly. "What are you doing in here?" He asked and you sighed heavily, not breaking eye contact as you felt pulled in by his bright blue eyes.

"Tony saved me from HYDRA." You started, keeping your hands crossed over your chest before lifting your hand to move your hair out of your face. "And then Thor had tried to help me and.." you bit your lip. Did you really want to tell Steve this? He was the first one besides Tony Stark to come see you and he seemed to not know anything about the incident with Thor back when you were unconscious and they had taken the gloves off your hands, not knowing the severity of your powers. "And I think they deemed me dangerous." You said for lack of better words, shrugging at the end for emphasis.

Steve shook his head, brows furrowed as he thought over what you said. You could see the gears turning slowly. "That sounds like Tony, I'll admit." He rubbed a hand along his jaw and sighed softly. "You don't seem that dangerous to me, more scared. Have they fed you?" He was concerned, stepping closer to the metal bars but stopping when you stepped further back in your cell as if distance was all you needed to keep for safety. 

"They've fed me, yes." You reassured the kind soldier, opening your mouth to speak more but unable to do so. The sound of the door down the hall opening and banging loudly, followed by quick footsteps to your cell had quieted you. And it wasn't long until you saw who was coming to the cell, your stomach dropping. Standing there now beside Steve was Tony. He had a container of food and a plastic spoon in his hand for you but his dark eyes were full of concern and worry. You knew it wasn't for you but rather for the man before him outside of the cell. 

"Steve I see that you've met the new girl." He started calmly, using his free hand to run through his hair as if to calm himself down from moving too quickly to get to the cell. Steve turned to face Tony as he was pushed to step aside, both of you watching Tony as he slid the container of food under the cell for you. "Steve, I suggest you step back some more. She's dangerous." Tony warned. You felt anger surge through yourself and you jumped up from the container where you had been examining your food for the night, hands wrapping around the bars of the cell before feeling the electric current and zap fill your palms and you immediately sprained back again.

"I'm not dangerous!" You insisted, eyes darting wildly between both of the men who were outside of the cell and free. 

" _Tony_." Steve drawled out slowly. "What do you mean by dangerous?" He looked over at you, carefully taking in the sight of you with a closer look than he had before. Tony turned to him after watching you pull away from the bars. You had forgotten the food that Tony had undoubtedly microwaved somewhere else in the building for you. Perhaps leftovers from whatever had been served there for lunch. 

Tony pointed at you and you felt smaller than you ever had before. "That's the girl who made Thor feel sick just from touching him. Thor, he's a god, remember? And her touch made him _sick_!" Tony's voice grew louder and his pointing more dramatic in your direction. You frowned and shook your head but there was not much you could say in defense of yourself. You had hurt Thor but it had not been intentional in any way, shape, or form.  
"I have her file from HYDRA being looked over now but if everything's true then she's The Necromancer. The one they were trying to..." he had leaned in to whisper to Steve, making your eyes narrow nearly into slits.

"I am right here! Why don't you ask me?" You snapped, your lips twisted down in a scowl as you glared at Tony. "I've told you for days now! I am not a weapon! They tortured me!" You repeated to Tony with a raised voice, nearly waving your arms up and down wildly for attention. Both of the men looked back at you. Tony rolled his eyes but Steve had raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, clearly taking your words to heart.

"What do you plan on doing with her? Keeping her in a cage and throwing away the key?" Steve asked Tony now, his jaw set and his eyes now focused on the other man rather than yourself. You swallowed thickly, watching Steve's biceps ripple as he crossed his arms over his chest to make a point.

Tony shook his head, "I'm not sure yet. Original plan was to get her information that she had on HYDRA but she has been less than agreeable on that."

"Agreeable?" You snorted and shook your head. "I know nothing! I was tortured by them!" You repeated again. Steve nodded and sighed.

"I don't think she's lying, Tony." He motioned to the cell door. "I'll take her under my wing and train her. I'll help her." He looked at you now and nodded gently, "we'll go over her powers and she'll learn to control them." 

"Steve she's not a puppy. It's not potty training a dog." Tony pointed out and you did not slowly at that. Tony had a point. You did not want to be someone's burden or responsibility, you wanted to be someone reliable and trusted, someone who was not judged for powers that ruled them. 

"I know she's not bad. She wouldn't even touch my hand when I went to shake her hand." Steve pointed out. Steve also had a point that you were not trying to harm anyone. The last thing that you wanted to do was hurt people, put them through as much torture that you experienced. There was so many things you had endured and you would absolutely do anything you could to not inflict that on anyone else. As it was, the nightmares that you had every night were enough to remind you that you had nothing but evil to spread and inflict. You had hoped to find a neutralizer who could negate your powers, make you feel less evil. You hadn't found one and you found comfort in the pair of gloves you had stolen years ago. You did not believe in them though, you had trusted someone with a fucking HYDRA insignia on their shirt who said they knew someone with negation powers, a neutralizer. Oh how naive you were at that time. 

"What if she takes off her gloves?" Tony asked now, completely ignoring you. You grew frustrated and shook your head. 

"I am _never_ taking off my gloves." You said coldly, moving to hold the bars to cell again before stopping short, remembering the shock that had been felt last time you touched them. 

"See? She won't be taking off her gloves. You're better than this Tony, let's get her out of the cell and I'll help her." He promised, putting a big hand on Tony's shoulder which the shorter man quickly shook off. Tony walked over to a data pad that was put up on a stand, punching in a code and putting his thumb on a scanner. 

"She's your responsibility Steve. I don't want to hear that she's more than you signed up for. If it was up to me, she'd be considered a lost cause." Tony spoke sternly. You agreed with Tony on that. There was no controlling the powers you had that you barely understood. There were too many powers that came with being The Necromancer. Toxic touch, seeing dead people, communicating with dead people, witch like abilities, there was too much that you had that you eagerly had wished you had not been born with. 

You heard the screeching of the metal as the cell door slid back to allow you the chance to exit the cell. Another humming noise and the shackles on your wrists fell to the ground in a clatter. You instinctively crossed your arms over your chest again in an effort to hide your hands. Your breathing was shallow, hitched even as you watched Steve and Tony peer into the cell. 

"Come out, you'll be okay." Steve said, followed by your name. You licked your lips to wet them, trying hard to calm down as you took a few steps forward. You could see the tension in the air and saw how Tony tensed and stepped back for distance between yourself and him but you didn't mind. You actually welcomed the distance between yourself and others. More distance, less risk. That's how you saw it anyway.

Finally, you were out of the cell and standing before them. Steve smiled proudly as if this was already an accomplishment. You looked at him uncertainly but did not return the smile. You could tell that he was too idealistic, too hopeful that he was going to save you or make you able to control your powers. Not likely, the last people who tried that had started the training with waterboarding. You couldn't trust him. 

"Let's get you some food and a room, we can start training in the morning." He promised motioning with his hand to follow. You did after looking back at Tony who was picking up the container of now cooled off food and the spoon that had been long forgotten by you. You wondered if Tony had a better plan than Steve. Not that you had a say in the matter, but you wondered now. Your bare feet hit the floor as you nearly had to jog to keep up with the long gait of Steve's. The man was tall and large and... _no, you were not going to think about that_. You shook your head, hair brushing in front of your face as you matched his speed. 

"Steve, you know you didn't need to put your ass on the line for me." You say, wringing your hands together as you looked up at the man walking with such confidence that you felt envious. Not a day in your life had you walked so confidently, so bravely and unafraid of anything or anyone that may come in his path. No one did and soon Steve had led you out of the cell room and into an elevator bringing you up higher in the building.

"Language." He scolded with a chuckle, light in his eyes to show that he was only kidding. But you were not focused on the light hearted banter and kind eyes at the moment. The fear of being so high up had you balling your hands up into small fists at your sides, your jaw tense and your hands feeling clammy even inside of the gloves. Steve noticed and his brows furrowed again in concern but he did not step closer in case you needed space to calm down.

"Hey, it's alright. Is it the height that is doing this?" He asked calmly. You swallowed thickly and nodded. "Well at least we know that you aren't a flyer. Look at me, hey, look at me." He tried to joke before calmly directing your attention to him. You opened your eyes and met his gaze almost reluctantly. He gave you a soft smile. "There you go, atta girl. Look, we're going up to the seventeenth floor. It's high up, I know, but we're going to go into the cafeteria and eat some food. It'll just be us sitting at our table." His promises helped calm you enough to nod and relax before hearing the elevator doors chime. It takes everything in you not to shove him out of the way to get further in the building before him.

"What's there to eat?" You ask as you follow him at a quick pace. The two of you pass multiple people in pant suits and regular business suits who all nod in respect to Steve and eye you in confusion or curiosity. You lower your head and focus on walking as you focus on keeping yourself calm.

Steve looked over his shoulder at you, half way smirking as he saw you having to walk so quickly to match his pace. He slowed down slightly but you still had to work hard to match his pace. "New York pizza. You know, seventy something years later and it actually tastes better. I thought all the chemicals would make it taste horrible." 

Your smile showed then, pizza being a classic staple to your diet before you had been captured. "There better be pepperoni slices." You said, relaxing more and warming up to Steve as you both entered the cafeteria. There were a few rows of tables and chairs in the room, the back of the cafeteria had piles of boxes of pizza pies, some opened and emptied. You were nearly grinning in full when you opened a box to find a slice of pizza with pepperoni still left there.

Steve saw your excitement and smiled more, relaxing as well before passing a plate to you and taking his own slice before guiding you to the table nearest to the pizza stand. He had extended an arm in your general direction and you suddenly jumped back, nearly knocking your pizza to the floor. His smile faded and concern filled his features and mixed with sadness. "Sorry, I forgot." He admitted softly before gesturing for you to lead the way to the table.

You tried to brush it off. You forced a half smile and mustered up enough calmness to speak, "It's okay." You heard yourself mumble before sitting down at the table and slowly taking a bite of the pizza. It's not like you asked him not to touch you for the sake of not being touched. The man was stunning. You knew there were people throwing themselves at him left and right and you also knew he was not trying to do anything with you other than be friendly and a form of comfort in the quiet place that was alien to you. But you also knew yourself. You knew how your touch, your _skin_ felt to others. You had seen how Thor had reacted to it. You couldn't trust yourself not to kill Steve. 

The rest of the shared dinner was met in an uncomfortable silence. You could feel that Steve was filled to the brim with questions, concern, things he didn't even pretend to understand, but you were thankful that he was not addressing it. So much had happened today. The least you could have was a slice of pizza in silence. But even the warm pizza did not soothe your mind and it was soon gone. Steve was wordless after suggesting getting you to your new quarters and you nodded gentle as if grateful. You followed him silently, hearing the sound of your bare feet and his boots on the ground of the silent hallway.

"All the training members of the Avengers live in these quarters. My room's at the end of the hall if you need anything. No one will be bothering you here." Steve promised as he passed you a key with the number 13 engraved on it. You were both stopped outside of the door that had the matching numbers. "Training will start at ten in the morning. It'll just be me with you until you are ready. I suggest eating before training." He said not without kindness as he bit his lip, ready to watch you duck into your room without another word.

You wanted to prove him wrong though and you looked up from the key you had been gripping so tightly. "Thank you. For everything, thank you Steve." You smiled gently. He nodded, his smile returning to his face and meeting his eyes before you decided to turn and exit the hallway, finally entering your room and locking the door shut behind you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I plan on updating regularly so please if you are interested make sure to bookmark this and comment!


	2. Nonnegotiable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all you lovely people! This is going to be one of many training session chapters (sort of, there's depth to this). This means that this chapter is going to be a bit longer, explaining things and all that good stuff.
> 
> Song for this chapter: Ashes by Stellar
> 
> **Warnings for this chapter** : cursing, suggestive language, processing trauma, body image (negative due to condition, not an eating disorder but may still be triggering), drowning/waterboarding mentions, violence (not too graphic).
> 
> New characters will also be being introduced this chapter to add input!

The door falling shut behind you, the sound of the lock in place, it all only cemented to you that they truly were trusting of you. Did they not think you would try to escape? You assumed the other people training to join the Avengers had come here out of their own free will and actual desire to be a role in justice to the community. While you did not want harm to be inflicted upon people, you did not believe that you could do any good. You looked down at your hands, still clothed in the leather gloves Tony had thrown at you after Thor had dropped you in the cell. Even though you had backed away from the God of Thunder and into the corner, Tony still held a blaster up and yelled at you to stay back. You had been harmless then, not that they knew that but it was true, did they still think of you as such?

As if answering your question, you could hear the sound of people down the hall and then the sound stopping as it neared your door. You turned to face it, standing on your toes to look through the peephole conveniently available. As you had expected, two guards were positioned at your door. They were fully clothed with armor, a helmet on their head and guns in their holsters. _Well if I wanted to draw attention to myself, it wouldn't be this way_. So that was that. No escape, no leaving. You _had_ to train with Steve in the morning. You supposed there were worse things in the world. You could still be in that cell, you could still be at HYDRA's headquarters in that cell. Just the thought of that had you feeling electric, itchy in your own skin.

A shower would help ease your worries and mind and with that, you headed to the shower in the room next to the bed and slowly peeled off your gloves. Your hands were finally bare, the cool air hitting them and you greeted it wholeheartedly. A smile came to your face as you turned on the water to hot, feeling different surfaces without the gloves on your hands. What you wouldn't give to be able to do this on a regular basis. You sighed at the thought and then began to pull your clothes off, turning to face the mirror. Your eyes widened at the sight. Your skin was far paler than normal, dark bags hanging menacingly under your eyes. Your lips were chapped, your hair wildly knotted and frizzy. But what concerned you the most was the way you saw your ribs through your skin. That couldn't have been healthy. You remembered being told something about feeling ribs but not seeing them was a good thing. This most definitely could not have been what was being referred to. You shook your head and turned away from the mirror, too horrified with the state of your physical appearance after the torture you endured to continue gazing at yourself, and you stepped into the shower.

The warm water cascaded down your body as if a blanket welcoming you to bed. You nearly fell asleep standing up as you stayed with your body in the water, your head out and away from the water. Your eyes were open as you looked at the water, swallowing thickly. You could still hear the heavily accented voices of HYDRA agents holding you down, tying you to the chair and wrapping the towel over your eyes and nose. You could feel the water pouring over your face and trickling into your mouth and down your throat. You could hear the strangled gurgling of your screams as you tried to escape the pain and fear.

You opened your eyes again, not remembering closing them. This was not HYDRA. You had to remind yourself of that. This was SHIELD, a safe place that only feared your touch rather wanting to make you fear them. You were safe here. Or as safe as you could be. And with those thoughts in your head, you kept your eyes open and ducked your head under the water, trying to remain calm as you let the water wash away the dirt in your hair. You used the shampoo and conditioner offered in tiny bottles and massaged it into your scalp, reminding yourself that, at HYDRA, you never had the soft scent of vanilla fill your nose while being tortured. The shower did not last too long after you washed your hair and skin. You dried off and redressed in the silk white pajamas that you found in a dresser. They were a little too small for you, bunching tightly at your hips and chest but you were more focused on the red SHIELD emblem stitched into the right breast pocket. Were you really a part of them or just being housed and trained under them? Surely they did not place guards outside of every person who has powers doors.

Clamoring into the large bed with grey sheets just as soft as your pajamas, you couldn't think of anything better. You drew the comforter up over yourself, eyes falling shut. Sleep was easy for once. It was dreamless, peaceful sleep, one that kept you asleep all night until the morning. You were pulled from sleep as a heavy knock on the door woke you up. Your name was called. Your real name, not the name that Tony Stark had called you. For a moment, just one small moment, you thought you were laying in your own bed before everything had gone to shit for you. You were only reminded of being in SHIELD's headquarters due to the large SHIELD sign on the back of the door.

Your name was called again, "I hope you did not change your mind about joining training." There was a voice on the other side of the door. You stood up, padding over gently to the door. You swung it open and were face to face with a very solid and muscular chest covered in grey. Looking up slowly, you saw the man who had saved you the day before. Steve Rogers in all his glory and work out clothes. From the looks of it, he had already been working out and showered, seeing how his hair was wet and combed to the side. He smiled down at you and you saw his eyes drift over your figure before jerking back up to your eyes. The tops of his cheeks turned pink, well aware that you had seen him looking you over.

"I didn't forget. There's no clock in here." You stepped aside, gesturing to the rather bare room that you were staying in. Steve cleared his throat, chuckling in embarrassment of forgetting that detail.

"Right, well we'll have that fixed for you. Get dressed and meet me in the cafeteria." He nodded, standing still as he looked into your eyes for another moment. He nodded once more before leaving you to slowly shut the door behind him and sighing heavily. You turned back to the room before deciding not to keep Steve waiting. Opening the dresser, you frowned at the sight of fairly normal looking clothes. You pulled out a pair of flattering black leggings and a blue v neck shirt. Printed in black on the right side of the chest was another SHIELD logo printed on it. _They must really have a thing with marking their territory_ , you thought to yourself as you redressed. You found your gloves on the bathroom counter and pulled them on before tying your hair up in a ponytail.

After pulling on your shoes, you walked down the hallway the way you remembered walking up the night before after dinner. Unlike dinner though, the cafeteria was not empty. You stood in the doorway, almost paralyzed in fear or shock as you saw several people eating breakfast and talking amongst each other. You were almost ignored until a man with pale skin and dark black hair caught your eye. He was seated next to Steve and leaned over before whispering, jerking his chin up in your direction. You swallowed thickly and straightened before getting your wits together and forcing yourself to continue to put one foot in front of the other as you entered the cafeteria and headed to the area that had boxes of cereals and bowls to choose from. You stayed tense, ignoring the stares you felt directed your way, focusing on pouring the honey flavored cereal into a small bowl and filling some milk into the bowl as well.

"Steve's told us you're new around here." A voice spoke smoothly behind you, evenly, almost robotic. You breathed in deeply through your nose as if holding back the jump that came from someone sneaking up behind you. You turned to face the man behind you, coming face to face with a man with a golden crystal in the center of his forehead, his red skin shining brightly and a pleasant smile on his face. "I'm Vision." He greeted and offered you a hand to shake. You gave Vision a half smile but it didn't quite reach your eyes and, instead of meeting his hand to shake it, you gripped the cereal bowl tighter. You introduced yourself to him before taking a small step back as if to ask for some space to be between you two. He did not seem to pick up on your cue though. "I've heard so much about you, Tony was telling me how-"

" _Vis_." A womanly voice called to him before the sound of heels clicking on the floor came closer. You tore your gaze off the man with a cape and looking over to a beautiful woman with long brown hair and a kind smile. "Let the poor girl eat." Her hand held his arm to pull him back and give you space. Your smile was more genuine then.

"Thank you, I'm just not a morning person." You tried to explain but the uneasiness in your gaze let the woman know that you still needed space and time to adjust.

"It's alright, some of us aren't too chatty anyway. My name's Wanda. Go eat, I'm sure that Steve has a long day ahead for you." She smirked and you all knowingly before leading Vision away from you. You felt like you could breathe again after being given that space, heading over to the table that was empty until you heard your name being called again. You looked over to catch sight of Steve waving you over. The dark haired man was still seated next to him, emanating a sign that he clearly was not to be messed with. He moved in his seat, an arm made of metal catching you eye. Now you were fairly interested.

As you made your way over to the table, you could hear Steve introducing you to the man next to him. "This is Bucky, he's been a friend of mine since, well long before I went into the ice." Steve chuckled. Bucky smiled over at Steve but in his eyes you saw concern in his face, almost like a confusion. You figured that if Bucky was the same age as Steve then of course there would be things in like that he wouldn't remember but his best friend? Maybe you were missing something.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." You said with a gentle smile before sitting down and beginning to eat. He nodded in response, mouth full of a piece of bacon and your eyes widened. "Was there bacon up there?" Excitement could be heard in your voice as you looked over but you frowned when all you saw were empty platters.

"Gotta wake up early for that." Bucky's chuckle came out more like a rasp, making you whip your head back around to face him. Your frown was visible as you sighed into the bowl of cereal before you.

"Well maybe if I had an alarm clock I could set a ti-"

"I told you I would have that fixed." Steve groaned out. When you looked at him though, you saw him smiling. You were coming out of your shell and it was clear that he was more than thankful to see you interacting with more people than just himself.

"I'll save you a few slices next time." Bucky whispered jokingly to you, "The old man here eats two helpings of it after his run." Steve shot him an accusatory look before clearing his throat, drawing your attention away from Bucky and back to him.

"Buc will be training with us today. We'll start easy, just cardio and endurance training. After you finish eating we'll go for a light jog and then work on building up your physical strength." Steve said proudly as if he had been up late last night planning out your regimen for training. It didn't seem too hard, a light run. You had run from danger or from people for years. 

"I don't get it, doesn't he have something else to do than train with me?" You asked in confusion. Bucky nodded slowly as if agreeing with you although there was a slight smirk on his face as if he knew something you didn't. You quirked a brow at him and narrowed your gaze, " _What?_ " You asked in confusion that was bordering on annoyance. 

"Bucky's joining us today because you two have something in common." Steve sat back, brining his coffee mug to his lips and taking a slow sip as he met your gaze. Before you could open your mouth and ask what exactly it was, Steve leaned in and lowered his voice. You caught a whiff of his soap on his body, a strong scent like pine and aftershave. You were momentarily distracted by it until Steve spoke. "You both were tortured by HYDRA." The words stopped you cold in your tracks, spoon halfway to your mouth as you moved your gaze from Steve to Bucky who nodded in confirmation.

"Now hurry up, we have a long day ahead of us." Steve said, sitting back before clearing his dish and empty cup of coffee into the tray that was to be sent to the sink.

***

Your lungs were burning as you pumped your arms forward to help generate your body to move forward. You had been running for over two hours already. Steve had told you at the cafeteria that it was a light jog. _Light jog my ass, who the hell works out and then goes on a ten mile run?_ Steve Rogers apparently. Captain fucking America enjoys his runs. And his friend seemed to be just as manic about jogging as the blonde. Bucky and Steve had each lapped you at least twice as you tried to meet whatever finish line Steve had set in place. And you swore to god if you heard Steve alert you that he was coming up on your left _one more fucking time_. 

"On your left." As if he could read your mind, he continued to breeze past you so effortlessly that you wanted to stop running and scream as if they were torturing you. Your limbs burned, your mind ached. And this was only the first training exercise of the day. You didn't see any of the other avengers running with you. Did they have the day off? Or did the more established members get to pick and choose what exercises they participated in. 

"On your _right_." Now it was Bucky passing you. He too did not seem to even glisten with sweat as he passed you by and he was the one in heavy clothing.

You needed a minute, just a chance to catch your breath. Black spots were dancing in the edges of your vision. You stopped running and opened your mouth slightly to force air in and out of your lungs at a faster and harder rate than before, holding your hands clasped together and resting on top of your head as if that would cool you off faster. When it took too long, you resorted to hunching over and placing both your hands on your knees, sucking in air harshly. You stayed like that for minutes, just trying to simply force air into your body. Footsteps approached you at a steady pace before slowing down. You squeezed your eyes shut and not because you were trying to miss getting sweat in your eye but also because you did not want to look whoever it was in the eye.

"Well you lasted longer than Steve thought you would." The arrogant and cocky voice of Tony Stark spoke up as he stood next to you. When you lifted your head up, still hunched over, you had to squint because of the sun being in your eyes. There he was, standing there cockily in a windbreaker zipped up fully and a pair of pants. He clearly had only left the compound to see you run in the heat.

"I'm just taking a breather." You shook your head to disagree with Tony who rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Of course you are. Look, it's okay to admit you can't do it. Kid, when I was your age..." He caught sight of your glare and chuckled, "Look, I did not want to keep you locked up in that cell but you were unpredictable I didn't mean for it to go on for so long. I was waiting for..." He trailed off as he saw Steve and Bucky rounding the corner on their path to catch up to you and make sure you were alright.

"Waiting for what?" A frown filled your features as you straightened to stand as tall as possible in front of Tony. You were still shorter but that didn't mean anything. His words had cut like glass and you had had no idea that everything had seemed to be like an experiment to him. As if your life wasn't really valuable to him. It only infuriated you more.

"Waiting for us to come up with a plan. Not to use you. To _help_ you. Listen, I never meant for you to be there for days. I'm sorry. You have to accept it and keep going." He insisted. By this point, Steve and Bucky were within earshot and were quickening their pace to you. 

"I don't have to do anything, Tony. I am still going but not because of you. I'm doing this because-"

"Because why?" Tony jumped at the opportunity and saw you stutter in an answer. You didn't know why you were doing this. Why on earth were you training to be a part of the avengers when all you really wanted was to be left in a cottage in the woods all alone to exist in peace. "Exactly. You need to have a reason why you're doing this before you open your mouth." Tony said pointedly before Steve and Bucky had fully came to your position.

You were fuming as Steve looked between the two of you. "What's going on? Are you alright?" He asked you. You looked over to him with a frown still present on your face. You couldn't take this out on him though. This was not his doing. Tony had pissed you off, not Steve.

"She's fine, just winded. I came down to see how our new recruit is doing. I think she still has a bit of a grudge against me." Tony chuckled halfheartedly and shrugged before pulling a cold water bottle out of his pocket to hand to you. You frowned at it and looked back up at Tony. "It's not poison." He said with raised eyebrows. "Thought you could use it. Call it tough love." He raised an eyebrow.

Was this some sort of messed up test between Tony and you? Was he trying to see if you harbored and held grudges like some sick villain may? You remember HYDRA and how they tried to burn many images into your mind in an attempt to condition you to hate the people that were training you right now. This had to be a test. You frowned at Tony and took the water he was offering but when he raised both eyebrows and tilted his head at you, you realized he wasn't satisfied. "Thank you." You said but he still didn't budge. You inhaled deeply through your nose before opening the water bottle and taking a long and hardy swallow of water before stepping back. "I didn't think it was poison." You said but in all honesty, you wouldn't have put it past the man before you to do something like that.

Tony nodded slowly before turning to Steve, "I wanted to let you know that some of the older guys are going out tonight. Getting shawarma like old times. You in?" He asked, completely ignoring you which was more than fine. You took that as time to catch your breath, drinking some more of the water that Tony had given you. Your muscles were still tense, your body seeming to collectively throb as you calmed your body down. Calm, just remaining as calm as possible was something that convinced you that you were in control. Maybe not of the situation but of yourself. 

"Just the few of us. Thor's even coming in. Wants to give some sort of update on the Bifrost." Tony had answered one of Steve's questions. You looked over at Bucky pointedly as if to convey the annoyance of the interruption of training. You didn't mind it, but Tony's presence was just an irritating thorn in your side.

"Sorry Tony, but I made a promise that I would be training our newest addition," Steve said your name again and you turned your gaze back to look at the two other men after Bucky had chuckled at your face you had made his way. Your eyes widened. No, there was absolutely _no way_ you were about to be viewed as a baby.

Tony seemed to expect you to speak up, smirking over his shoulder at you as you cleared your throat. "I appreciate that but there you can't babysit me all night. I am an adult." You said, nodding for emphasis. 

"A very short adult." Bucky chimed in with a smirk. You frowned, glaring over at him. You thought that he would have been on your side but apparently you were wrong. But then he spoke up again. "I'll watch her. We can share war stories with HYDRA." A pointedly look from Steve and Bucky rolled his eyes. "I was only kidding. Wanda and Vision wanted to do game night or something. We'll include her. Sam will be there too." Bucky said as if he was a child asking for someone to stay the night. You looked back from him to Steve. It wouldn't hurt to go along with the charade that Bucky was holding up even though you knew when training was finished you'd shower, take some food back to your room and probably sleep until the next time someone knocked at your door in the morning for training.

"Absolutely. We'll braid hair and paint each others nails." You said to Steve with a joking smile and you only hoped that he would buy it. For a moment, you thought he wouldn't and that you would be stuck training all night long. Your body already hurt.

Steve sighed heavily, "Alright. But we are training for the rest of the day." He caved, making Bucky smile in confidence and you relax as you would be trusted. You don't know how much you would be trusted though considering that at night there were guards standing at your door to make sure you didn't leave. You wondered what time they had left the door considering in the morning, there had been no guards. Did Steve even know that they were there?

"Now," Steve said, followed by your name once Tony had left to reenter the compound to do whatever it was he had to get to that he had said were pressing matters, "we are going inside to the basement. We'll be working on doing some push ups and sit ups." Steve waved for you and Bucky to follow.

"But I didn't finish my run?" You offered, knowing the lack of upper body strength that you had was borderline embarrassing. And you could already _tell_ that Bucky would be making fun of you more than earlier. At least things were easy between the two of you. Like an older and younger sibling duo. At least from the first interaction it was.

"You did your best. I'd rather not wear you out on the first exercise. Besides, you did six of the miles, I'd say that's a great start." Steve smiled, walking alongside you. You noticed that your strides matched his a bit better and that's when you noticed that he was shortening his gait for your sake. Your smile at that was noticeable by him and you could tell he had caught it. The three of you made it inside and then into the elevator. The cool air from the air conditioning system was welcomed by you, feeling your sweat soaked clothes stick to your skin. The two men were fairly quiet and it gave you time to look over both of them. The two of them were strong just in appearance. Strong jawlines, sharp cheekbones, biceps that rippled every time that they moved. They were nowhere near as sweaty as you were.

The elevator door chimed and Steve led the three of you out into what looked like a gym made for training boxers. There was only two other people in the room and they were in the ring that was platformed up in the center of the room. One girl was easily more agile than the man in the middle. Her flame red hair flew over her face as she jumped to wrap her legs around the man's neck to take him down to the ground aggressively. The man stopped her and threw her back into the ropes of the ring. The two were evenly matched, throwing blow for blow, dodging each others attacks. You stopped in your tracks, eyes wide as you watched the two of them fight. You didn't need to be introduced to them. You knew right away that those two were Black Widow and Hawkeye. They had been there when Tony had saved you from HYDRA. You remembered the way that Black Widow had gone ahead and taken down the men chasing after you, the way Hawkeye promised that you were safe. You remembered the horror on their faces when Thor fell from your touch. The way they stood by Tony when he had commanded you to get into the cell. 

"Natasha I didn't know you were in yet." Steve said happily with a grin. Natasha looked over, giving Hawkeye the opportunity to throw her to the ground one more time in victory. She gave her partner a roll of her eye before sliding out from under the ropes and walking up to Steve to give him a hug. Hawkeye was slower to leave the ring, spotting you before Natasha had.

"Steve long time no see. And how have you been, Bucky?" She smiled and gave Bucky a hug as well. He was a bit more stiff with the hug but still returned it.

"Good Nat, good to see you." Bucky smiled at her kindly. You had been so caught up in seeing them exchange formalities as if old comrades, and in some way they were, that you didn't see Hawkeye coming up to you.

"I see you have your gloves back." He said casually. You did jump now at this surprise and looked over and up at him. He must have sensed your nervousness at his presence because he shook his head. "Not gonna hurt ya. It's good to see you out and about and not in that cell." He said, almost looking as if he was about to pat your shoulder but stopping before he even neared you.

"Tony let you take her out?" Nat's question made you turn your gaze back to her. She stood between the two men, looking straight at you. You tensed then, not expecting her to be as welcoming as everyone had been so far. You suddenly wondered if she ever understood what you were going through. The pain, the unknowing. You wondered if she would want you dead just like so many before her had. But in the end, all you could do was smile awkwardly as Steve spoke up.

"Let her out? Geez Nat, she's a person. She's training under me." He explained, "We're going to get her powers under control and then she's going to join us." He added confidently. You were less confident than he was but if he wanted to dream big then you couldn't exactly stop him. Or, you could but then he wouldn't go out with Tony and the original Avengers, meaning that you would be training until the late hours of the night. 

"The gloves stay on." You told her as if promising it to Natasha who nodded slowly. You weren't expecting everyone to accept you. Hawkeye even seemed to be rather standoffish still. You really only had the two men in front of you on your side. Tony seemed to want to see you succeed but that he needed you to do it without his help. It took time and you understood that. Natasha and Clint had seen you without gloves. If Steve had seen that, there was no telling whether or not he'd still be willing to help you and train you into something you weren't even sure you could be. You still did not even know the full extent of your powers. You only knew one for certain and that was the one that could kill with just the slightest touch.

Natasha was still watching you as she spoke with Steve and Clint, talking about their plans for later in the night with the rest of the group. You didn't mind being excluded from this conversation. The less people here meant less eyes on you. Less eyes on you meant that maybe, just maybe, you'd be able to breathe a little bit easier. But soon Natasha and Clint had moved away from the three of you and moving towards the elevator. Steve shrugged after Bucky had asked him something and then Steve turned to you.

"Let's start with some push ups." He smiled cheerily in your direction. It took everything in you not to groan as you moved to the floor to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to hold off on Thor's introduction juuuuuust a smidge longer, since the main character has already inflicted damage on him, I want that fear of meeting him build up more.
> 
> As always, leave comments, kudos or anything!


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